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SAFC-supported productions in the spotlight at Adelaide Film Festival 2022
04 August 2022
The 2022 Adelaide Film Festival kicks off in October with a slew of highly anticipated SAFC-supported productions already announced for the program – including several documentaries, a high-concept sci-fi thriller and a horror film from a famous Adelaide based YouTube duo.
Kicking off the festival with a bang is the world premiere of SA made and SAFC supported feature documentary The Angels: Kickin’ Down The Door as the Opening Night Gala event. From SA writer, director and producer Madeleine Parry with SA producers Peter Hanlon and Rick Davies, The Angels: Kickin’ Down The Door is an electrifying look at iconic SA band The Angels, who revolutionised Australian music with their gritty guitar rock and ferociously theatrical live shows. This intimate documentary explores the tensions in the band that tore relationships apart while producing unforgettable rock and roll.
Accompanying the film in the opening night gala will be SA made and SAFC supported short film Marungka Tjalantananyi / Dipped in Black, directed and produced by SA’s Derik Lynch and Matthew Thorne with SA producer Patrick Graham.
Marungka Tjalatjunu / Dipped in Black is a multi disciplinary film and photographic art project that explores (in dream and memory) Derik’s childhood growing up in the heart of central Australia. The story follows his road trip from the oppression of white city life in Adelaide back to country – Aputula – to perform Drag on sacred Inma ground, while memories from his youth return.
Tickets for the Opening Night Gala featuring both films are on sale now – book here.
Also on the 2022 AFF program is the highly anticipated world premiere of sci-fi thriller Monolith from SA director Matthew Vesely, SA producer Bettina Hamilton and SA writer Lucy Campbell.
Through the clever containment of a single location and only one on-screen character, Monolith follows disgraced journalist (rising star Lily Sullivan) as she turns to podcasting to salvage her career, before uncovering a strange artefact that she believes is evidence of an alien conspiracy.
Filmed in the Adelaide Hills in 2022, Monolith is the inaugural project made under the SAFC and AFF Film Lab: New Voices initiative, a low-budget feature film skills development program designed to elevate the next generation of diverse, South Australian filmmaking talent. Funded by SAFC and AFF with additional support from Mercury CX and Screen Australia, Monolith was developed from an initial concept through to polished script with experienced industry mentors over an 11-month intensive program, before being greenlit for production in February this year.
Tickets for the Monolith world premiere are on sale now.
Also premiering at AFF 2022 is SA made and SAFC supported feature film Talk to Me, written and directed by Adelaide’s YouTube sensation filmmaking twin brothers Danny and Michael Philippou aka RackaRacka.
When a group of friends discover how to conjure spirits using an ancient embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill, until one of them goes too far and opens the door to the spirit world. Increasingly haunted by supernatural visions, the friends unwittingly prompt a devastating possession, forcing them to choose who to trust: the dead or the living.
Best known for their comic horror and action shorts, the Philippou brothers have amassed over 1.5 billion views with 6.5+ million subscribers across their social media channels as RackaRacka – Talk to Me will be their feature directorial debut.
For tickets – stay tuned for the premiere announcement for Talk to Me via the AFF website.
Also on the AFF program this year is an exciting new SAFC supported visual art installation combining digital imagery, ceramics and sound, launching at the Art Gallery of SA (AGSA).
Wave will see SA artist Gerry Wedd’s iconic ceramics and drawings brought to life with an evocative soundscape composed by acclaimed SA pianist and artist Gabriella Smart in an immersive 360-degree installation in the Gallery’s Elder Wing, directed by Wedd and SA producer Mark Patterson of Go Patterson Films, with digital production by SA’s Jumpgate VR.
Visitors will go on an epic journey from sea to sky through this new form of storytelling that unites the mythic imagery of Wedd and the sonic intensity of Smart. A Go Patterson Films and Soundstream New Music co-production, Wave has received support from Arts South Australia, AGSA, the SAFC, AFF and Rick Martin.
Find out more about Wave and other exciting events on the AFF Visual Arts program here.
And finally, SA made and SAFC supported Embrace: Kids will have its South Australian premiere later this month ahead of its national release in September, courtesy of Adelaide Film Festival Youth.
The new documentary from internationally recognised body-image advocate Taryn Brumfitt – best-selling author and speaker, and the director behind break-out 2016 documentary Embrace – brings together a vibrant collection of stories and voices to entertain and inspire kids and parents alike, showing us that the first step in changing the world is changing your own mind.
This time, Taryn is talking to school-aged kids and famous friends including Celeste Barber, Jameela Jamil, and Adelaide music duo Electric Fields about body image, bullying, gender identity, advocacy, representation and more.
The SA premiere of Embrace: Kids is on 27 August – tickets are on sale now.
The Adelaide Film Festival runs from 19 to 30 October.
Tickets to many sessions are on sale now, with the full program to be released soon – go to adelaidefilmfestival.org for more information.